The Greens made history in Newham local elections last night, winning two council seats in Stratford Olympic Park, the first non-Labour seats in the borough since 2010.
Nate Higgins, 25, and Danny Keeling, 31, became the new councillors for the redrawn and renamed ward of Stratford Olympic Park.
Newham has been held by Labour since its inception in 1964, and this year they claimed 64 of 66 council seats and 23 of 24 wards, leaving Higgins and Keeling to stand out in a sea of red.
Higgins said: “I’m incredibly excited for what this means for Newham politics.
“We’ve shown it’s genuinely possible. I think it’s going to ignite a change in lots of parts of Newham, not just Stratford.”
Higgins also paid tribute to the incumbent councillor for Stratford and New Town, now Stratford Olympic Park, Labour’s Nareser Osei, whom he replaced.
Moreover, he praised the positivity of the Green and Labour campaigns as being led by people, passions and ideals.
Keeling added: “Working really hard all year round has really paid off.
“It’s really exciting to now be at the point of being able to do more work, but now with more possibilities, to actually serve the residents!”
They added that they hope this win might inspire other young people to get engaged in politics.
Keeling and Higgins said they ensured their campaign literature was engaging and accessible to inform as many people as possible about local politics.
On a more personal note, Higgins and Keeling are proud of what they have achieved.
Keeling in particular is proud to become the first openly non-binary councillor in Newham.
Higgins said: “It feels unreal.
“I’m still processing what this means for me personally.”
Stratford Olympic Park saw 33.95% turnout, among the highest rates of turnout for Newham wards in a set of local elections that saw low turnouts across the board.
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